Born in Blood



It was like being administered anesthesia at first. 

There was no pain, just empty numbness.

Then, Liam felt his senses being dimmed like light receding into darkness.

His hearing turned to silence, his feeling, taste, smell and even his left eye had puffed out. 

…Except, the King's Eye still functioned, meaning he could see what his body went through. 

Then, it happened. 

All the numbness in his body burst with abrupt pain, like fireworks going off one by one.

Liam would have grunted, tensed or clenched his fists to suppress the feeling. 

But he had no sensation in his body, making him experience everything in its raw form.

Even his heart slowly stopped drumming, and his muscles felt formless like a dense oil. 

Right after, everything started to rapidly burn.

Immediately after, everything started to freeze. 

Liam was used to being burned alive, freezed, cut, broken, stabbed, bruised and tortured. 

But right now, all those feelings combined into one grim sensation that spread evenly across his agonized body.

Cracking, squirming and wet noises left his limp figure. 

Bones were being cracked and reconstructed, muscles were being torn apart and reformed, veins were being ripped and recirculated. 

Blood oozed from every orifice. The nails on his hands and toes shot out like bullets in every direction.

Even Elder Jane, who watched silently from afar, never experienced such a thing during her own Struggle Tribulation.

Liam was literally falling apart. 

Even his skin was slowly melting away in chunks.

'Is it because he's an 'Ashura'?' she wondered with furrowed brows, a bit disturbed at the grisly sight. 'I can't imagine what he's going through.'

…But there was a silver lining. 

However difficult a person's test was, the more rewarding it would be once they successfully passed.

A Struggle Tribulation would usually last 2 to 4 minutes.

Exactly 10 minutes passed. 

Liam's form only grew worse and worse. 

He looked like a rotting corpse. 

'Where's the purifying 'Ora'?!' Elder Jane screamed in Liam's place. 'He's gonna die!'

Liam cursed inwardly, his bloody face displaying neither pain nor anger.

Usually, it wouldn't take long for the purifying 'Ora' to appear within the cultivator's body. 

Yet, he suffered continuously with no such 'Ora' appearing.

Until finally, a tiny wisp of dense energy sputtered in the center of Liam's chest!

Despite all of the excruciating sensations, his mental waves were steady and unwavering, and he enveloped the world essence with his mind. 

It would be strange if his pain tolerance didn't come in handy during something like this.

A moment later, Liam began to spread the essence evenly.

Wherever it touched, the pain searing through him slightly lessened.

But Liam was dying.

His heart had practically stopped for more than 10 minutes!

There was no air in his lungs.

His organs were failing, melting into energy as they met the Rank 4 essence.

His ribcage squeezed his chest, jagged pieces of it poking against his liquid liver, spleen and abdomen.

His entire body looked like an inflated balloon.

A convulsing, gurgling and melting balloon. 

Only his centers of power remained solid, since they weren't a part of the Tribulation.

A Zenith's body functioned differently to a Mortal's. 

Organs that a normal human couldn't live without, were simply unnecessary to a Zenith's bodily structure.

Liam used the Rank 4 'Ora' appropriately. 

First, he directed it to his heart, vitalizing it and making it weakly beat again.

thump…thump…thump…

A few excruciating seconds passed as the burning organ transformed into something different, upon which he moved to his lungs.

Raspy, shrill air entered his sensitive lungs once more.

After that, Liam needed to reconstruct the structure of his bones. 

Wherever the Rank 4 'Ora' enveloped, the bones straightened and snapped into place with a loud crack. 

They were thicker, stronger, sturdier.

However, they were much slimmer and streamlined compared to before.

After all, every Tribulation acted depending on what technique was used to arrive at it.

For the Dark Wraith body, Liam's skeleton had grown slender and narrow. 

Even his fingers, and especially his spine, grew bonier and thin, sharp at the ends.

That transformation process took a few minutes, but with his heart and lungs working, the pain was bearable.

His ribcage and skeleton was now in one piece, and he no longer appeared like a flimsy noodle.

Shortly after, Liam focused on his caved-in muscles.

The Rank 4 essence washed over it like a fierce wave, seeping in between his striations and tightening into a superior form.

As specific parts of his muscles formed entirely, it made a boom noise and sent a minute shockwave throughout the space, like popping a dent back into place.

Several 'booms' later, and Liam's body was now semi-complete. 

Still, the Tribulation wasn't done yet.

There was still some of the Rank 4 essence left, and Liam spent the next few minutes absorbing all of it.

Slowly, he regained a resplendent human appearance.

Liam's skin had a silky sheen of its own, and the etchings that came with his Ashura form deepened enough to be noticeable. His tattoos didn't disappear, but were brighter than normal.

A few ornate lines grew more noticeable on the sides of his head and face. 

His long hair grew a few shades of silver white among the lustrous blonde. 

His eyes had gained a brighter glow, amplifying the red and golden colors.

But everything was covered by a filthy veil of viscera and a bright coating of crimson.

…Finally, it was over!

Only a twentieth of Liam's mental energy reserves remained, and heavy drowsiness made his eyes droop.

Still, immense power surged through him. Flowing through every fiber of his being.

Liam let out a soft, warm sigh.

In that half-aware, sleep-succumbing state, Liam briefly inspected his new body.

His nails were jet-black, but his fingers were unnaturally sharp and pointy.

However, most of the changes were within.

Dense muscles replaced his old ones. 

A vaster network of veins threaded his body.

Liam's liver, spleen, kidneys, and every other supportive organ had been replaced with sturdy flesh.

Only his most crucial organs remained, like the heart, lungs, and stomach.

From the corner of his eyes, Liam shot Elder Jane a probing gaze.

The Elder, who was watching the whole time with an awed, horrified and amazed gaze, suddenly felt her senses scream with danger.

Like being sized up and down by a predator.

Jane slightly flinched, but as she responded with a frown, the dangerous sensation disappeared.

Liam had fallen asleep.